Under the Forest Trees
by Fillia
Summary: Alejandro Rodriguez just transfered to Hogwarts from a Wizarding school in Costa Rica. He quickly befriends Neville Longbottom but deep down they both want something more than just friendship.  Neville/OC slash.
1. La Costa

Hello everyone! Well this is my first fanfiction and I do hope that you like it. Please review, I am very open to your criticism and will do my best to improve the story. (: And super thanks to Emily (SongBirdAZ) and to Andrew for editing(:

Disclaimer: I do not own any thing recognizable from this story. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

...

Professor Snape hovered over Neville's cauldron, taking a moment to analyze the bubbling turquoise mess before insulting it.

"An unacceptable excuse for a Calming Draught," Snape said turning to walk back up to the front of the classroom, "Ten points from Gryffindor." Neville sighed along with the rest of the Gryffindor house while trying to ignore the snickers coming from the Slytherins.

Then the dungeon doors swung open to reveal Professor McGonagall standing next to a tall boy with short black hair and dark eyes. Everyone turned to look at him.

"My apologies for interrupting," McGonagall said calmly, "this is Alejandro Rodriguez. He is a transfer student from …" she paused and looked at Alejandro, "La Escuela de la Costa Magia. For those of you who did not comprehend a word of that, Costa Magia is a prestigious wizarding school in Central America. I trust you all to welcome him and Professor Snape seeing as it is not too far into your lesson I presume that you will have Alejandro attempt the assignment."

Professor Snape nodded. "You may take the seat next to Draco Malfoy seeing that there are no others available." Alejandro looked at the boy with bright blonde hair who had jerked his head up at the sound of his name. Their eyes met and Alejandro walked over and set his book down.

The dungeon door closed as McGonagall walked out and Snape stood in the front of the classroom. "Mr. Rodriguez, the class has just begun to prepare a Calming Draught. Seeing as you came from a fine school I accept that you will have no trouble performing this task." Alejandro nodded and took out his potions book as the professor swooped away.

Alejandro could see the blonde boy's eyes flicker towards him. "Do you have a problem?" He snapped much too loudly. He was usually a very pleasant person but the first day of Hogwarts had been long and frustrating for the most part.

"Your book is in Spanish," Draco said, though his words wavered a bit.

Alejandro was sure to soften his tone this time, "That doesn't make it wrong. Look," he said flipping through the pages, "it's all the same potions." Draco said nothing more and began adding the ingredients to his cauldron. Alejandro did the same trying to forget about everything that had happened that day, glad that after Potions class it would be over until the following morning. Alejandro tried to keep his mind focused on the potion, but he could feel the occasional glance from students in the room wander his way. He tried to ignore them by paying more attention to the assignment. His book stated that a perfect Calming Draught would be a light yellow and would smell like daisies. His draught, however, was neon purple and stayed that way no matter how he tried to fix it.

"Time is up. Leave a vial of your potion on my desk before you leave." Alejandro knew that he had made a mistake in following the directions but wasn't sure of exactly what had happened. Nevertheless he scooped the draught into the vial and stood in the line that had formed down the length of the classroom. The person in front of Alejandro looked extremely nervous about handing in his draught which was a dark turquoise color. When he handed it to Professor Snape the scowl on his face was obvious.

"Longbottom, this is as always a terrible use of the ingredients. Detention tonight at seven o'clock sharp." Alejandro set his vial down and tried to scoot out of the line of fire. "Same for you Mr. Rodriguez. " Snape said examining the orange liquid in the vial. "You know, coming from the school that you did I must say that I did expect better work from you."

Alejandro followed the one named Longbottom out of the dungeon and was met by a sneering Draco Malfoy. "I heard what Professor Snape said. You had better check that book of yours." Then he turned and went down the corridor followed by two others how had identical expressions of adoration for Draco.

Alejandro turned to go the other way and almost collided with someone who had been standing behind him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alejandro said before looking at who he had run into. It was the boy with the turquoise vial.

"O-oh. No it was my fault. So I guess we have detention together." Alejandro looked at him. He was tall, taller than he was, with brown hair and blue eyes.

"I'm Neville Longbottom," he said, sticking out his hand. Alejandro shook it.

"Alejandro Rodriguez," he said trying to be as polite as possible.

"Did you get sorted into a house yet? Most new students come on the first day and get sorted along with the first years. But seeing as we're fifths years and it is a couple weeks into the term…" Neville said quickly, like he was afraid of an answer.

"Dumbledore took me to his office and did a private sorting. I'm in Gryffindor, though I'm not sure exactly what that means. Dumbledore seemed pleased." Alejandro said. Neville let out a giant sigh of relief.

"That's good. Gryffindor stands for bravery and courage. Though I thought you were in Slytherin when I saw the way you snapped at Malfoy." Neville said. "I'm in Gryffindor, too."

"So Slytherin and Gryffindor don't get along?" Alejandro asked. Neville noticed his accent then. It wasn't overly strong but it was enough to get your attention.

"Yeah, something like that. Where are you from?"

"Costa Rica," Alejandro said before adding, "And you?" Neville let out a burst of laughter and Alejandro smiled uncertainly, not sure if he had made a joke or if Neville Longbottom was just plain mad.

"Here, of course." Neville smiled brightly at Alejandro and they both felt as if the had just made a friend within each other. "Well it's about half an hour until dinner in the Great Hall. What do you say we go down together. Then go to Snape's detention?"

Alejandro smiled and agreed. Perhaps the first day wouldn't be so terrible after all.


	2. Trip to the Owlery

Chapter two and it's only the second day!(: Well thanks again to Emily (SongBirdAZ) and to Andrew for the advice and patience while I messaged them constantly. PLEASE please please review! If you don't, how am I to know whether or not to continue writing? C'mon, don't be shy. Tell me what you think (:

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I do,however, own Alejandro... so HA! :D

...

The two boys walked into the dungeons for the second time that day and took two seats next to each other. Professor Snape was sitting at his desk writing on a piece of parchment. He didn't look up to acknowledge their presence.

"You two are going to spend this detention picking daisies," Snape's voice was even and without a hint of humor.

"You're joking, right?" Alejandro asked loudly. He had spent the entire time since the Potions class fretting the punishment and assuming that they would be forced to juice flobberworms or something equally repulsing.

"For the record, Mr. Rodriguez, I am not. These are not regular flowers. Flos ut licet non animadverto would be an average daisy if one could see them. " Professor Snape looked up now and saw the pair of confused faces. "They grow around the Owlery, find twenty and then bring them back and set them on my desk." With that he stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the two boys in a shocked silence.

Trudging up the slope to the Owlery both Alejandro and Neville hadn't said anything since leaving the dungeons. Alejandro was the first to break the silence.

"Invisible flowers. How are we supposed to find one, let alone twenty, invisible flowers?"

"Feel around for them I guess," Neville said, glancing at Alejandro.

They spent the first few minutes circling around the Owlery in some hope that the flowers weren't invisible after all. But Snape had been telling the truth, so they resorted to kneeling down and grabbing for what may or may not have been a daisy. The boys split up and were searching different sides of the Owlery when Alejandro heard Neville call his name. He found Neville squatting down next to a patch of weeds.

"Look," he said excitedly, holding up what seemed to be nothing at all. "The daisy _is_ invisible but it still leaves a shadow." He held the daisy next to the ground and there was in fact the shadow of a delicate flower swaying gingerly in the cool breeze.

With their new discovery in mind Neville and Alejandro worked quickly to find the flowers so that there would be enough light to see the shadows. Neville noted the odd sensation of holding a flower, or anything for that matter, that you couldn't see. It was like having to believe that it was there rather than just by looking at it.

When they were finished and the light was fading even faster they made their way back into the castle dungeons for what seemed like the millionth time. Alejandro opened the door for Neville who just thanked him and entered shyly. Professor Snape was nowhere to be found so Neville, who had insisted on carrying all of the flowers, put them on the desk and left.

The Gryffindor common room was bigger than Alejandro had expected, with its large chairs, several portraits, and the fireplace. Everyone in the room turned to look at the newcomers. A girl with medium-length and somewhat frizzy hair smiled from behind the book she was reading, marked the page, and came over to them.

"Hello," she smiled and looked at Alejandro with brown eyes. "I'm Hermione Granger," her tone was happy and friendly yet somehow curious all at the same time.

"Alejandro Rodriguez," he said, doing his best to match the outgoing vibe that the girl was emanating.

Hermione smiled even wider this time and Neville thought he saw her blush, if only a little bit. "Well, because you're new to Hogwarts I thought that maybe I could introduce you to everyone." Her eyes flickered over to Neville. "Though I see you've already met Neville. Well, that's Fred and George," she pointed at two identical boys playing wizarding chess in the corner. They simultaneously glanced up and nodded in the group's direction. "They are actually quite the trouble makers so if they offer you a Puking Pastille or anything like that just refuse. " Alejandro laughed and looked at Neville who shook his head in agreement. "Lavender Brown and sitting next to her is Parvati Patil," both girls smiled and waved in unison. "And that," Hermione said gesturing to two other people who had just walked in, "is Harry Potter and Ron Weasly."

Alejandro had of course heard of Harry Potter, but then again who hadn't? Although he had never imagined what if would have been like to meet Harry Potter he wouldn't have pictured it this way. He and his red-haired friend, who looked quite similar to Fred and George, looked tired and were nearly completely covered in dirt. Alejandro said hello and shook hands with both of them. They seemed nice but he wasn't sure that they would ever become friends. Which was fine by him seeing as he already had Neville and, he assumed, Hermione.

"Why do they have dirt all over them?" Alejandro looked at Hermione when he asked the question. Neville could have sworn he saw a faint blush again.

"They just got back from Quidditch practice, very messy sport. Did you play Quidditch back in Costa Rica?"

"Yes, I never tried out for the team but I did play occasionally." Alejandro answered just before realizing something odd about her question. "How did you know I was from Costa Rica?"

Hermione's eyes widen a bit. "Well I read in _The Magic Behind Wizarding Schools _that La Costa Magia is in Costa Rica," she made eye contact with Alejandro, then broke it by looking at Neville, "and I overheard you speaking with Neville." She added the last part quickly and almost guiltily, like she expected them to be angry with her.

Neville spoke first, "That's okay, Hermione. It's not like you were purposely eavesdropping or anything."

Alejandro nodded in agreement while Hermione smiled. "Well, if you'll excuse me I have an essay to write."

Neville and Alejandro moved back away into a fairly empty part of the common room before Neville spoke. "I think she likes you," Alejandro laughed. He had never understood girls.


	3. Late Night Story Telling

Wow, two chapters in one day, which really isn't that much but hey...(: Thanks again to Emily and Andrew, you guys rock. No reviews yet, but I'm waiting patiently. :D **_Please_** let me know what you guys think, flame if you feel the need to. I crave the criticism(:

Disclaimer: I do not own any thing that you recognize. J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I own Alejandro and the creepy skeletons - though I'm not so sure I want them D:

...

A few nights later everyone sat at the foot of their beds in a circle, all leaning forward intently as the story began.

"You see," Seamus said, looking back and forth between each one of them, "there is a reason that students aren't allowed into the Forbidden Forest. I mean, besides the fact that it's forbidden and always has been." Neville stirred uncomfortably in his seat, clearly anxious for the rest of the tale.

"Rumor has it that there are these creatures living there, more hostile than the centaurs. They're supposed to be skeletons with glowing eyes that are somehow still alive. " Seamus paused for what only could have been dramatic effect.

"Do you mean like the Inferi?" Ron asked Seamus, who shook his head.

"Inferi are only the dead controlled by magic. These are worse. Someone said that if they see you walking in the forest that they'll rip you limb from limb and feed your insides to the thestrals. " Neville shuddered and Dean Thomas rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"Seamus, that's absolutely absurd." Seamus just threw up his arms in mock surrender.

"I'm just telling what I heard."

"Heard from where?" Harry asked, while his eyes scanned over all of them, pausing on Seamus' face. "Fred and George? Because those two have never been a very reliable source of information." His voice was thick with sarcasm.

"Actually yes, but it still makes for a mighty nice story." They all groaned and Dean threw a pillow at him. Seamus caught it and set it in his lap. "No need for violence, Dean," he added humorously.

"Wow, I nearly believed you for a moment," Alejandro said while his fellow Gryffindors laughed.

"I'd bet ten Galleons that one of you couldn't stay in there for even an hour after dark," Seamus added. Everyone shook their heads at the offer, except Alejandro.

"You're on."

"What?" Everyone barked at the same time.

"I know that English isn't your first language but you do know the meaning of _forbidden_, don't you?" Dean asked, Alejandro nodded with a defiant confidence which he didn't know if he actually felt or not.

"You can't just march down into the Forbidden Forest; you'd get expelled if anyone found out." Ron said looking uncomfortable with the circumstances.

"Then no one will find out, will they?" Alejandro smiled and Neville stared at him with wide eyes. Seamus was the only one smiling.

"There we go! Any other takers?" Alejandro looked at Neville who had the bed right next to his. Neville gulped, and then slowly raised a shaky hand.

That had shocked the group. Neville Longbottom, who had never been one to exactly take risks and certainly didn't want to break any rules, was offering to go.

"You serious Neville? Have you gone mad?" Harry asked softly.

Neville looked at Alejandro. "He's my friend, do you honestly expect me to let him go in there by himself?" Alejandro smiled internally, for some reason afraid to show his happiness at the thought that they were good enough of friends to chance expulsion together. Alejandro wanted to thank him but before he could he was interrupted by Seamus.

"So it has been settled! Longbottom and Rodriguez are to spend an entire sixty minutes deep within the Forbidden Forest after hours. If they manage and aren't eaten by skeletons or something, ten Galleons each."

Alejandro should have been more concerned about what could happen. But then he seriously doubted that Dumbledore would ever have anything too dangerous so close to the Hogwarts castle. Although in Costa Rica from the dorm rooms you could hear the cries of the...

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Neville said uncertainly.

"You're sure about this?" Alejandro looked at his friend carefully, trying to find a trace of regret.

"Absolutely."

Seamus smiled again began a rant on how much he hated Care of Magical Creatures. Neville couldn't be sure of what had caused him to accept the challenge. Gryffindors were brave. And a Gryffindor couldn't possibly let the best friend he has had in quite a long time go off gallivanting in a dark forest alone, could they? No. He was nearly positive that when the moment came and the pair was walking in the Forbidden Forest he wouldn't feel nearly as brave as he did just a few moments ago. And besides, he had sensed the smile that Alejandro was hiding. Making other people happy had always made Neville feel like he'd accomplished something. They would also be together the whole time, so how dangerous could it possibly be?

After a while the talking died down and Ron, Harry, Alejandro, Seamus, and Dean had fallen asleep. Neville, however, stayed wide awake. He was thinking about Alejandro again, which is something that he had been doing more often than he would've liked to admit. He desperately wondered if Alejandro was doing the same thing but – no, no. They were just friends. Best friends. Why would either of them want anything more? More to the point, Alejandro was straight – probably. Neville sighed. He had seen the way that Hermione looked at him. She very obviously liked him, and why wouldn't he like her back? She was an absolutely brilliant witch, and an all around good person. Hell, Neville might have liked her if he felt that way about girls.

Neville forced his mind onto a different subject. Professor Snape had told the class that they were going to prepare a potion with the invisible flowers that they had collected. Of course, Snape hadn't given them credit for their hard work but it was going to be interesting anyways. He wondered what kinds of potions could be made with such an illusive daisy.

Also, there was the forest to think about. What kinds of things really did live in there? He guessed that they would find out around that time the very next night. Neville waited a few minutes until he was sure that everyone was asleep to whisper, "Goodnight".

"See you tomorrow, Nev," said the whisper from the darkness. Neville laughed silently and then fell asleep, ready for the new day.

...

Hate it? Love it? Let me know!(: no pressure.


	4. How Do You Say Promise Me?

So it took a couple days for this chapter to come out, but I hope you like it. (: Please read and review. Once again thanks to Emily (songbirdAZ) and Andrew. I promise that I'll post the names of any reviewers.

Any ideas on what you would like to see happen in the next few chapters?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling. Alejandro, however, is mine :D

...

Neither Alejandro nor Neville were exactly excited about Potions class that next morning. Alejandro because sitting beside Draco Malfoy sounded about as appealing as being eaten by a crocodile and Neville because he was just plain awful at potions. They both walked to their seats, which were close enough to see each other, but too far away to talk without being obnoxiously loud. Draco came in a minute later and shuffled over to his seat. He took a quick glance at Alejandro but said nothing as he sat down. When everyone was present and seated Professor Snape began the lesson.

"As I have mentioned previously, today you will be preparing a potion using flos ut licet non animadverto, or the invisible flowers that grow on the Hogwarts grounds. When brewed correctly the potion will reveal a seed in the bottom of the cauldron after a night of sitting in the cauldron, a different seed depending on the personalities of the ones who prepared it. One day to brew, one night to sit in the potion, then you will present your seed to Professor Sprout and the assignment will continue in her class, " there was absolutely no enthusiasm in his voice, probably because there were a hundred other places he would have rather been. "You will be working in pairs for this assignment, the pairs will carry over into Professor Sprout's class." At those words nearly everyone in the class looked at their friend hopefully. "You will be paired with whomever you share a working station." The class sighed audibly. Alejandro tried to hide a cringe. Work. With Draco? There was no way that was ever going to happen. "Professor Sprout will better explain the second part of this project tomorrow." With a flick of his wand the instructions appeared on the chalkboard and everyone began to work.

Neville sighed. It's not that he didn't want to work with Lavender, he just would've preferred to work with Alejandro. He looked over at him; he had a look of annoyance as Draco spoke to him. With the chattering of the class it was hard to hear what they were saying. He was able to catch of few words, but then Lavender spoke.

"This is going to be so exciting!" Her face had broken into a large smile. "Think about it, making a plant out of a potion. I wonder what kind of plant it's going to be." Neville, at a loss for words, just nodded.

Meanwhile Alejandro was silently cursing Snape for pairing him with Draco. He looked at the board while Draco was saying something about how much he hated Herbology. Alejandro rolled his eyes and tried to block it out. Once he and Draco had their ingredients they began. Alejandro started cutting up a white weed plant while Draco began heating the cauldron.

"What do you think the potion will grow into?" Draco asked while pouring some liquid from a pink vial into the cauldron. Alejandro figured that he should at least answer this time, seeing as how he had been ignoring him up until this point.

"If we're lucky, nothing that will turn into another assignment for a different class." Draco laughed quietly and Alejandro tried not to roll his eyes again. He looked over at Neville who seemed mildly uncomfortable as Lavender Brown was speaking very rapidly about something.

Draco did try to hold a conversation with Alejandro, but his attempts failed. Alejandro was making it clear that he wasn't interested in what he had to say. That was new; Pansy Parkinson always hung on his words like they were of life or death importance. But then again, Pansy was a girl. A girl that liked him a little too much.

The potion took a good forty minutes to brew, which was a relief to everyone. The very last step was to drop an invisible daisy into the potion, which would turn it from black into a slate grey. Alejandro picked up the invisible daisy; he assumed he was just holding one, though he couldn't be sure. He and Draco watched as he let go and a splash was made in the dark liquid. Almost instantly it was a brilliant grey. It was the most beautiful color Alejandro had ever seen. He could have stared into it forever. There was something oddly familiar about it but he wasn't sure where he had seen such a color before.

"You will report here tomorrow morning with your partner and receive the seed. From there you will go to the Herbology greenhouses." Professor Snape's eyes surveyed the class, and then with a swooping motion he turned and left the room.

" 'Spose I'll see you tomorrow morning," Draco said. Alejandro nodded. He walked out of the room and met Hermione and Neville. As the three of them turned to leave the dungeons, Alejandro looked back to see Draco with Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy. Draco glanced at him and then he knew where he had seen that shade of grey before… _Oh, shit._ Alejandro thought.

He tried to focus on Hermione. "It's not that I mind working with Seamus, but I don't feel like he is taking this assignment seriously. This is our O.W.L. year, you know. He kept saying something about the Forbidden Forest…" and then it struck her, "Oh, no. You two aren't planning to go in the Forbidden Forest, are you?" Neville smiled guiltily and Alejandro shrugged nonchalantly. "Please tell me you aren't! I am a Prefect! And I cannot let you two go out into the Forbidden Forest."

Alejandro sighed and pulled her into a hug, "No, we are not going out into the forest." Hermione smiled and pulled away. The trio went into the library and while Hermione searched for a book on the Black Lake, Neville leaned over and whispered to Alejandro.

"I thought we _were _going."

"Of course we are, but it would be inconsiderate to let her worry about us."

"So we have a plan, then? A way to keep the bet while not getting caught?" Neville seemed worried again. He had been anxious the entire day, jumping slightly at the sound of his name. Rule breaking was just not in his nature.

"Plan… No, no plan yet." Alejandro said while Neville looked as nervous as ever. "Relax, there will be a plan… I am coming up with one as we speak."

"Does it includes lying to Hermione some more?" Neville's eyes were somehow hurt.

_Ouch._ "I didn't want to! You know this is the only way. "

Neville gazed at him for a second. "How do you say promise me in Spanish?"

"Prometeme," Alejandro was taken aback by the question.

"Okay then, prometeme that you won't lie to her again."

"Look," Alejandro said as he put his hand over his heart, "I promise that I will never lie to either of you, or anyone else, ever again." Neville smiled.

"You had better not," said Neville happily, back to his normal self again.

...

Love it? Hate it? Any ideas? Let me know(:


	5. Bright Lights

Hello(: Sorry that this chapter took a few days to come out, school's been hectic. But here it is! I hope you read and review. Thanks once more to Emily (SongBirdAZ) and to Andrew for putting up with my constant pestering :D

The password for the portrait is from the Robert Frost poem, "Once by the Ocean".

This is a pretty short chapter, the next one will be longer, I promise!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I probably don't need to brag about Alejandro anymore, do I?

...

The plan was fairly simple; it was actually accomplishing it which would prove more difficult. They would, in theory, sneak onto the Grand Staircase without getting the attention of any tattletale portraits, and then descend to the bottom of the staircase. Harry had said that there was a portrait of a wizard who guarded a passageway to the Boathouse. From there it would be a straight shot into the forest. Trying not to disturb the portraits would be the most difficult part of getting out of the castle. Not only did they detest being woken up, most were strict rule followers and would report any sort of misconduct straight to Dumbledore.

It was dark when they went down the steps from the dormitories into the common room. The only thing in the common room was Crookshanks, who was snoozing in a chair by the fireplace which was glowing in slight amber. The Fat Lady swung open automatically; seemingly unaware that anyone had left. Alejandro and Neville were too scared to try to light a path with their wands, just in case a portrait woke up. They relied on a dim light that came from the torches that were lit throughout the staircase.

Walking slowly and soundlessly they went down the stairs. The whole thing seemed more menacing now that they were actually breaking the rules, not just thinking about it. The portraits were asleep and snoring softly in their frames. Some would stir as Neville and Alejandro walked past but they hadn't woken up.

Neville risked a whisper, "I just realized, how do we know that portrait we need won't say anything?" His voice was shaking with fear.

"We don't. We just have to hope." It was really the only optimistic answer Alejandro could give, he wish he could have said that nothing bad was going to happen. But even _he_ knew better than that.

When they finally reached the portrait of wizard, he too, was asleep. He was sitting on the grass leaning against a rickety fence. A light brown horse grazed in the pasture and whinnied softly as Alejandro and Neville came near.

The wizard awoke with a start then seeing the two friends murmured something quietly to himself. "I suppose you two have a reason to be here after hours?"

"We'd like to use the passageway," said Neville shakily.

The old wizard sighed, "You've a password?"

Alejandro nodded; Harry had told them the password but refused to lend them his invisibility cloak, "The shattered water made a misty din."

The wizard thought to himself for a long moment then swung open. "Thank you," they both said. The wizard made no reply as he leaned back into the fence again as Neville and Alejandro walked through the stone tunnel. A few steps later they were at the other side. The wizard opened the passageway again and they were in the Boathouse.

The Boathouse was creepier than Alejandro thought it was going to be. Thick spider webs coated the corners and the murky water sparkled ominously in the moonlight. He shuddered and hoped that Neville hadn't noticed, he was trying to be the brave one after all. It was a short dark walk from the Boathouse to the edge of the forest, but they didn't dare, once again, to use magic until they were safely hidden by the forest. Once they were far enough into the canopy of trees they figured it was safe.

"Lumos," said Neville. The Forbidden Forest was terrifying, end of story. He supposed it always had been, even in the daytime. Neville knew that Seamus's story wasn't true, but that did little to ease the feelings of being watched. The leaves and twigs made snapping noises under their feet as they walked further into the trees. When they were into the forest enough to see the lights from the castle and hopefully not be discovered the silence was broken.

"Why'd you come with me?" The question was out of the blue, Neville took a moment to compose his answer.

"Well…" This seemed to be as good as a time for a confession as any. He knew what he wanted to say, what he felt like he had to say. _Nope._ The words weren't coming. To be honest, he couldn't think of anything to say at all. Instead he just looked around at the trees overhead.

"I…" Neville started. This was going to be infinitely more difficult than he had thought. He refocused his gaze on the large tree roots protruding from the ground beside him. "What I've been meaning to say is…" He could feel Alejandro's eyes on him, "Well, I think that –"

There was a loud rustling noise and then large bright blue glowing orb of light from behind the trees about a quarter of a mile away was pointed in their direction. Fear struck both of them to the core. Too terrified to run, they stayed in their spots.

"It can't be," Alejandro whispered so quietly that Neville could barely hear him over the rustling of the leaves. He could have sworn that it was coming nearer with each moment that went by. It was getting brighter, and therefore, coming closer. Neville shuddered violently; Fred and George may have actually been telling the truth.

...

Love it? Hate it? Please let me know!(:


	6. Hagrid's Warnings

I am so sorry for how long this took! School, dance, etc. got in the way but here it is now! Longer than the previous chapter, as promised(: Thanks so much to Emily! (SongBirdAZ)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable.

...

"What in the hell are you two doin' here?" The voice boomed through the trees towards Alejandro and Neville. A feeling of both relief and complete horror washed over Alejandro. It was Hagrid. And Hagrid couldn't be too hard on them, could he? Even if he did, it was better than running into Snape any day. Then Alejandro realized that the punishment for being in the Forbidden Forest was almost always expulsion. He stole a quick glance towards Neville; he could see him literally shaking with fear.

"I can explain," said Alejandro weakly. He really couldn't but it sounded a whole lot better than 'Oh crap'.

"Well then?" The element of anger and surprise was written on his face. The blinding blue light had been coming from the tip of a pink umbrella.

It was Neville who spoke next. "We'd heard a story that there were these skeleton… things." He was clearly ashamed of the whole ordeal, but the last thing he wanted was for Seamus and everyone else to get involved into this mess. It wasn't their fault.

Hagrid released a deep sigh and swayed his gaze between the two young Gryffindors. " You shouldn' be concerned with those types of stories. But I 'spose I did a lot o' sneakin' around durin' my years here, too." Neville relaxed visibly. "You know that students aren' allowed ter be out here without a professor?" They both nodded guiltily. Hagrid sighed once more, tilting his head to glance up at the stars above. "Detention fer the both of you."

Alejandro remained weary. Detention. That's it? That can't be it. "That's all?" Hagrid looked at him.

"Fer the time being yes. I'll walk you two back up ter the castle." And with that they were leaving the Forbidden Forest and heading towards the golden glow of the castle. When they reached the bottom steps of the Grand Staircase Hagrid turned to them.

"Don' be thinkin' you got off easy, now. " Hagrid's voice was strong and left no room for other comment. With a side step he turned and walked away.

"I've never been more terrified in my entire life," said Neville, leaning against the rail of the staircase.

Alejandro shrugged nonchalantly. On the inside, he was shaking worse than Neville had been. On the outside, he was calm and collected. Going up the staircase wasn't nearly as frightening this time. The portraits were still sound asleep in their frames. When Neville and Alejandro approached the Fat Lady she opened her eyes groggily.

"Password?" She murmured drowsily.

"Norwegian Nettles." Neville said to her softly.

She made a sound of vague agreement and the passageway opened to the poorly lit common room.

"Thank you, Neville."

Neville stared at Alejandro with a look of surprise. "What for?"

Alejandro shrugged again and continued walking up the steps to the dormitories. "We could have been expelled, but you came anyways. Why?"

Neville had that feeling in the pit of his stomach once more. He never made this easy, did he? "To be honest, I really like you." He'd said it just as Alejandro pushed open the door into the dormitory. Alejandro's dark brown eyes fell on Neville's blue eyes. Neville had no idea what he was thinking; there was no expression of his face. He was sure that he was blushing madly at that point but then they were quite literally ambushed.

All at once all of their fellow Gryffindors were cramming around them, all asking questions at the same time.

"What happened out there?"

"Tell us what happened!"

"Are you guys alright?" The question was from Dean, he seemed to be the only actually concerned one of the bunch. Neville could distinctly feel everyone's eyes on him.

"Couldn't last a whole hour?" Seamus asked, grinning.

Alejandro shook his head, "Hagrid caught us and made us come back. A big detention, though."

"That's it?" Harry asked, surveying them. "I thought for sure if you got caught it'd be worse then just that."

Alejandro shrugged and turned his gaze to Seamus who was smiling uncontrollably.

Seamus laughed, "A good thing too. I didn't have ten Galleons." The group erupted into laughter, all except Neville. He watched as the others gathered in a circle around Alejandro as he retold the story of how the evening had played out. Of course he didn't mention what Neville had said to him, but he also didn't even look at him for the rest of the time.

Neville knew that this would happen. Why wouldn't it? _Tomorrow_, he decided, _tomorrow I can try to fix this._

ooOOoo

In Professor Snape's class the next morning the air was still with anticipation. Or at least it was for Neville. Alejandro hadn't spoken to him since the night before. Sure, he had still sat with him and Hermione that morning in the Great Hall but he hadn't said much. Neville was sure that Alejandro was refusing to look at him. Neville had to hold on the hope that things could get better. Without that, he didn't have much.

Lavender slid into the seat beside Neville. "I don't know that I've ever been more excited for a project before!" She was beaming once more, Neville had forgotten all about the assignment.

"Yeah, it'll… Be fun." The last part was more like a question than a statement but Lavender didn't seem to notice.

The class started out fairly slowly, with Professor Snape, in his endlessly monotone and dry voice, introducing the new ingredients.

Alejandro's eyes stayed on his Potion's book. He didn't want to deal with anything or anyone after what Neville had told him the night before. He had a deep dread about when he would have to speak to Neville again, but he couldn't keep the silent treatment going forever. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he was doing this. But that was partly because he didn't have a good reason for it. It was just so… unexpected. How was somebody supposed to react to this sort of thing? Alejandro had absolutely no idea.

"Staring off into space again?" Draco's voice snapped Alejandro out of his thoughts.

"Is that something I do often?"

Draco nodded and began pouring the liquid from a pink vial into their cauldron.

The potion was not as complicated as anyone had expected, except maybe to Neville and Lavender who when they weren't busy accidently knocking potions onto the table were spending their time trying to keep the smoke that was coming from the concoction as minimal as possible. They were the only ones experiencing that problem, though.

When all was said and done all of the students stepped away from their cauldron as Professor Snape performed the spell that would reveal their seeds. Neville and Lavender's sead was almond shaped, pink, and furry. Neither of the two had an explanation for why it had turned out that way and no idea as to what it would grow to be but they accepted it anyways and gazed at it as it laid gingerly in Lavender's hand.

"I don't think I understand, Neville," she said, meeting his eyes and handing him the seed. "I thought it was supposed to represent the people who brewed it. "

Neville took the seed. "Well, I think that part comes in once the plant is grown." It was the best he could do; his mind had been on Alejandro all day.

On the other side of the room Draco and Alejandro's seed was square and a dark purple. They might have thought it beautiful if either one of them had taken more than a second to look at it. This whole time during the brewing they had been talking. The conversation started off in the usual way; with how much they both disliked potions and whatnot, but then it turned into an actual discussion. It was very similar to the chats he would have with Neville which came easily and were about anything worth talking about.

He almost shook of the thought that he and Draco could be turning into friends. But why couldn't they be? Besides the whole Slytherin Gryffindor rivalry they both got along fairly well.

"Would you go to Hogsmeade this weekend with me?" Draco asked the question purely out of the blue. Alejandro stepped back a bit and met Draco's slate gray eyes. He and Neville usually went to Hogsmeade together- as friends, of course.

Alejandro took a quick look at Neville who was talking softly with Lavender. Lavender. _See? _Alejandro thought. _He doesn't need you. He has Lavender as of right now._

"I don't see why not."

...

Any ideas as to what you want to see in the next few chapters?


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